Cat Picture of the Week: Mr Barclay

Photo Credit: © Monica Harding

Cat Picture of the Week: Mr. Barclay

This is Mr Barclay; he is the son of B who we rescued as a stray kitten. B went into labour on the fateful morning of September 11/2001 as I watched the horror unfold on t.v. She jumped on the couch next to me and out popped a kitten. Sadly this sweet little baby was already dead and B did what came naturally, she ate it! I waited for her to continue delivering but nothing happened. I knew by her behaviour that she wasn't finished so I did some investigating and was prepared for our boy's arrival 24 hours later.

We already had two cats so we started trying to convince a friend who is a great animal lover that he needed a kitten. Thankfully he said no. Mr Barclay is the most amazing boy and although he loves his Mommy (me), he is all about Daddy. When my husband gets home from work Barclay is not happy until he can get up on Daddy's chest and shove his nose under his chin, into his neck. There he stays, purring and kneading until he comes out of his love trance. His favorite time of the day is bed- time, when he gets Daddy all to himself. He's there when I go to sleep, curled up in my husbands arm, and in the same spot when I wake up. You rarely see one with- out the other.

Unfortunately, Mr Barclay has not come without some problems. At about three years old he started to exhibit some strange behaviour. It turned out to be Feline Hyperesthesia. When he has an episode it can be frightening for all of us, thankfully they seem to be getting fewer and less severe. Along with that he has some strange fears, ceiling fans scare him to death and a sneeze sends him flying from the room. We do our best to be considerate of his little quirks.

We are so lucky to have our son in our lives and thankful that our friend turned us down. I could not imagine life without him.

Mr Barclay's photo is also destined for the 2008 March Tabby Cats Gallery. I fell in love with this photo the instant I first saw it. His laid-back pose makes me smile every time I see it. My Cat Pictures of the Week are chosen from general photo submittals, but only those submitted with all the information requested in my Photo Submittal Guidelines.